Digital transformation is all around us, revamping the core practices of businesses. Communications service providers (CSPs) are also looking to transform what they do and how they do it. They face a demanding public, hungry for content consumption and creation capabilities and a business community that relies on robust telecoms for its own digitisation initiatives.

Read more: Nexign calls for operators and OTTs to work together to cope with data proliferation

The sprint to 5G has begun with widespread deployments expected by 2020.   The opportunities for both consumer and enterprise markets are massive. Access to high-speed networks will not only delight consumers as they traverse the web, but also set a new standard in the types of experiences businesses can create for their audiences. 5G will deliver speeds up to 1000 times faster than 4G, as well as much lower latency and the ability to support huge numbers of devices connecting to the network simultaneously.

Read more: Building smarter experiences through 5G

Global smartphone sales saw their worst contraction ever in 2018, and the outlook for 2019 isn't much better, new surveys show. Worldwide handset volumes declined 4.1% in 2018 to a total of 1.4 billion units shipped for the full year, according to research firm IDC, which sees a potential for further declines this year. “Globally the smartphone market is a mess right now,” said IDC analyst Ryan Reith. “Outside of a handful of high-growth markets like India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam, we did not see a lot of positive activity in 2018.”

Read more: Will foldable phones save the smartphones market?

Established in 1993, IPT PowerTech is a complete solution provider combining energy-efficient solutions with innovative telecom infrastructure along with managed services, all the way to initiating and implementing the Guaranteed Savings Model and T-ESCO Model (Telecom Energy Service Company). The 25-year journey has been a rapid evolution to becoming the initiator of the dual battery concept, with a wide geographical footprint spanning over 11 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, and covering more than 50 countries.

Read more: IPT PowerTech celebrates its 25th anniversary, a quarter century of innovation, growth and...

There are growing concerns in Europe that if the regulatory environment doesn’t change, the continent will be left behind in relation to the commercialization and subsequent deployment of 5G networks. That was the general consensus which was shared amongst a number of high-profile and prominent figures from the ICT industry during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Read more: Europe set to be left lagging behind in race for 5G

The increased adoption of smart mobile devices since the early 2000s created an explosion in the demand for data and value-added services. Telco service providers found themselves in a constant race to satisfy KPI baseline values under increasing pressures from dwindling margins and prevalent business models in highly-penetrated market. Rapidly evolving consumer and business requirements and the need to develop and deliver cost-effective quality services overwhelmed the imperative to make long-term investments with calculated risks.

Read more: SAUGO360 aiming to become leader in software and networking solutions development

The 12th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders Summit in Beirut, Lebanon is expected to attract the region’s most prominent ICT experts and technology thought leaders in an effort to explore and examine the current opportunities and challenges in the telecommunications industry.

Read more: The 12th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit is set to beat all expectations

By Clery Tonneau, head of Products Department and head of Mobile Financial Services, Sofrecom

For some years, telecom and bank regulators have demanded a 100% reliable verification of customers’ identity, also known as KYC (know your customer), in order to prevent identity theft fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing. Unfortunately, traditional KYC methods are both cumbersome and error-prone.

Read more: Biometrics technology: What is at stake for MNOs?

More Articles ...